by Katie Yates It’s around 1pm when I join the FOTOcamp students in a Photoshop Lightroom session with instructor Jennifer Walker. Each student has their own computer and they’re following along with Jen, who is showing them the differences between contrast, saturation, and vibrance. Fresh from a walk to CityPlace, each of them is bubbling with excitement over the images captured. “While walking around CityPlace, we stopped to take pictures of five adorable little dogs! Some of them were super crazy while others were calm and smiled for their picture,” FOTOcamp student Emilia M. told me, hovering inches from her computer screen, showing off the photographs she took. “Taking pictures at CityPlace was a great experience,” says student Mercedes C. “We got to photograph restaurants, stores, people, dogs. I’m so grateful for this opportunity!” I ask the students as a group: “What do you like to take pictures of best?” They all chime in, excited to share their creative vision, they shout out every subject from flowers to their friends. Some are brand new to photography while others already seem like professionals! At just 13 years old, student Allison R.  has a website she created for her photography portfolio. This is her second year as a FOTOcamp student. “I enjoyed CityPlace,” she says, “we got to take pictures from all

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John Reuter’s name may sound familiar—aside from regularly teaching master-level workshops at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, his work is currently being displayed in our museum space. His exhibition Second Impressions, Polaroid Process to Singapore Infrared is running from June 22 to August 5, 2017, and is well worth a look or two! Seizing the unique opportunity to learn from the pro whose work was in a show just downstairs, students registered for his Lightroom CC workshop—and they were not disappointed! “Excellent class!” Writes Caroline L. “John Reuter is an amazing instructor and his teaching style is easy to understand and follow. I was able to learn techniques that will make my post production more effective.” Some have taken this particular workshop more than once, such as Greg M. He writes, “This is my third experience with this class. Each time I become more comfortable with what I learned in the previous class and challenged to use the techniques. John Reuter is a born teacher… I may take it a fourth time!” The workshop was four full days, a timeframe that may seem daunting to some—but, as Dennis H. writes, it is “time well spent.” He continues, “I highly recommend this course.” “An incredible experience!” Writes Diana M., “The instruction was well delivered and well paced allowing for Q+A as

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by Shane Srogi 1: Bring a tripod (and a remote) 2: Set to Manual Exposure Mode 3: Set the camera to Shutter Speed at 1 second to start – explore slower shutter speeds for interesting effects 4: Set Aperture for f/8 – try f/5.6 for larger streaks or f/11 for more depth of field 5: Set ISO to 100 or 200 6: Use Manual Focus – Auto focus has trouble in low light and will lose focus against the dark sky 7: The exposure meter may be of little help – the combination of the dark sky and number of fireworks will change the reading. Overexposed the sky will be too light – Under and the fireworks won’t be very bright 8: Pick your vantage point – down wind from smoke and your view will be obscured* 9: Shoot vertical and horizontal shots 10: Tell the story. It’s not just about fireworks its about a celebration, gathering and location *Note: I had planned to Photograph the Space Needle for New Years 2000. They turn the Needle into a giant roman candle, making it the launching platform. Because of security concerns the area close to the display was closed. I picked a new location on the fly, it was downwind. The fireworks started and 15 seconds later the Needle was obscured

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